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Hakugyokurou/Saigyou Ayakashi
General Information Hakugyokurou is a ghost shrine overlooking the Netherworld. It is well known among the afterlife realms for its cherry blossom gardens, and many ghosts come to see them every spring. Residents Yuyuko Saigyouji is the lady of Hakugyokurou, and Youmu Konpaku acts as its gardener. The massive youkai cherry tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi, can also be found lying dormant in the gardens of Hakugyokurou. Game Appearances Hakugyokurou was the location for the final stage of Perfect Cherry Blossom, and several fights in Immaterial and Missing Power''and ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. It was only seen in the multiverse during the winter incident and the spirit resurrection incident. Saigyou Ayakashi The Saigyou Ayakashi is a youkai cherry blossom tree, and is the largest cherry blossom in the gardens of Hakugyokurou. It has existed in the Netherworld longer than the Ghost Princess, Yuyuko Saigyouji herself. Some of the spirits in the Netherworld remember the Saigyou Ayakashi having the most beautiful blossoms they had ever seen, but the cherry tree has not bloomed for ages. There currently seems to be a powerful seal within the Saigyou Ayakashi, leaving it unable to blossom at all during spring. Whether the tree is sealing something, or whether the tree itself is being sealed, remains a mystery to most outsiders. A long time ago, there lived a divinely talented poet who traveled around Gensokyo. When the poet became aware that the hour of his death drew near, he chose to begin his eternal rest under the most beautiful cherry tree he could find. After the poet's death, word of the beauty of the cherry tree began to spread across the land. That cherry tree has grown even more beautiful since then, charming many people into choosing to rest in peace beneath its blossoms. After absorbing the blood of so many people, it turned into a youkai cherry tree with the ability to lure people to their death on its own, and came to be known as the Saigyou Ayakashi. Eventually, the beautiful blossoms of the Saigyou Ayakashi were sealed away, using the bodies of Yuyuko and several others buried beneath it, and now remains within Hakugyokurou. During the events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, Yuyuko Saigyouji, the ghost of the human Yuyuko, attempted to overpower the seal on the Saigyou Ayakashi in order to both see the legendary blossoms, and to resurrect the soul that was sealed within. However, Yuyuko was unaware that the sealed soul was in fact her own, and thus all of Yuyuko's attempts to unseal the soul failed due to her unconscious self-preservation. Netherworld The threat level in the Netherworld is 'high' and encounterable youkai include phantoms, ghosts and other types of spirits. After death, humans pass through the Road of Liminality, cross over the Sanzu River, and receive the Yama's judgement. Depending on the severity of their crimes, they are sent to either Hell, Heaven, or the Netherworld. Amongst these, the Netherworld is where the guiltless dead spend their time as phantoms, until they achieve nirvana or reincarnate. Different from the desolate Hell, the Netherworld is calm, though it has various seasons. It is filled with beautiful cherry blossoms in spring, and dyed with beautiful red leaves in autumn. The Netherworld is a notable place for people in the know for their cherry blossom viewing parties. The animals here are also dead, so they fly in the sky silently and splendidly. Like the Lunar Capital, it is a Pure Land where things do not change or decay with time; things from the Netherworld which seem old were simply made that way for aesthetic reasons. Hakugyokurou, located in the Netherworld, is where two notable Touhou characters live: Youmu Konpaku and Yuyuko Saigyouji. The former is a gardener and the latter is the "princess" of the land. The manor is a beautiful structure, surrounded by walls and stairs using designs from the continent, and has a Japanese-style residence and Zen garden at its highest level. The entrance to the manor is a very long stairway called "Hakugyokurou's Stairway.” Even though the dead comprise most of the Netherworld's inhabitants, the Netherworld is a distinct part of Gensokyo. However, travelling between the two is restricted by a gate above the clouds, sealed by the Barrier of Life & Death. During the main events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, a hole opened in the barrier between the Netherworld and Gensokyo, and it has become easier to travel between them. This is because the barrier was weakened by Yuyuko Saigyouji, making it possible to simply fly over the gate, and Reimu Hakurei (in her scenario) was able to destroy it. Afterwards, Yukari Yakumo was asked to repair the damage, but apparently never got around to it, as the boundary continues to thin through the summer of Imperishable Night. The Netherworld first appeared as the centre of the main events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, being the location of stage 5 and the Final Stage. The spring was taken from Gensokyo and placed in the Netherworld in order to fully bloom the Saigyou Ayakashi, a youkai cherry blossom tree that, unknown to Yuyuko Saigyouji, holds her dead body inside. After the heroines went across the Barrier of Life & Death in Stage 4, they went up Hakugyokurou's Stairs, in Stage 5, fighting ghostly fairies, but then encountered Youmu Konpaku. She warned the heroines that coming to the Netherworld is forbidden amongst the living, but was eventually defeated. After going deeper into the Netherworld on Stage 6 to Hakugyokurou's garden, they encountered Yuyuko, the final boss of the game. Ten days later, the heroines re-entered the Netherworld as part of the Extra and Phantasm stages. In the Extra Stage, the heroines tried to find the one who was not repairing the barrier between the Netherworld and Gensokyo. They fought bizarre ghostly fairies and spinning enemies, as well as bumped into Chen. Some time later, they encountered Ran Yakumo, only to discover that her mistress was asleep and that Ran was guarding her. After what was considered an unnecessary, long battle, Ran was defeated, and the heroines had to come back at night. This formed the precedent for the Phantasm Stage, which is similar to the Extra, but more difficult. After fighting more bizarre ghostly fairies, Ran re-appeared as a midboss, only to be defeated again. Eventually, Yukari Yakumo appeared, with the heroine demanding that she should fix the barrier. She still didn't fix the barrier even after defeat. The Netherworld appeared as Youmu Konpaku's stage location in Phantasmagoria of Flower View at Hakugyokurou's Stairs. The stage generally appears on stage 3, 4 or 5 of most of the playable characters' scenarios, but on 6 in Lyrica Prismriver's scenario. Various characters will come here to look for leads on the flower incident, only to find and defeat Youmu, and discover that the flower incident has not spread to the Netherworld; only in Gensokyo. In Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu's scenario, she'll come here to see if Youmu has been keeping up with what she (was supposed to have) learnt from the Yama, which she hasn't. The Netherworld once again appears in Ten Desires on Stage 1, where ZUN states that it's "been a while since we last went to the Netherworld". The heroines immediately thought that the cause of overflowing divine spirits was coming from here, only to find that Yuyuko Saigyouji does not know anything about it. She is the stage's boss, and a random divine spirit is the midboss. Yuyuko points the heroines towards the Myouren Temple following her defeat. In Youmu Konpaku's scenario, Yuyuko forbade Youmu from leaving the Netherworld to further investigate the incident unless she could defeat her, which she soon did.